


The Not-So-Normal Adventures of Stiles Stilinski

by FishofaFeather



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awesome Sheriff Stilinski, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Stiles, Banshee Lydia Martin, Danny Mahealani Knows, Danny Mahealani is Part of the Pack, Derek Needs To Use His Words, F/M, Gen, Jackson Needs a Hug, Lydia is Perfect, M/M, Minor Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Pack Building, Pack Dynamics, Sassy Peter Hale, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Sheriff Stilinski Finds Out, Sheriff Stilinski is a Good Parent, Stiles-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-06
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-02-12 02:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2092395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FishofaFeather/pseuds/FishofaFeather
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles notices things other people don't. But its easier to pretend he doesn't know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bite

Stiles knew he wasn’t normal. He was obsessive, had problems with authority, sarcasm was his favorite language and he lacked a certain fundamental skill called self-control. He functioned best on too much Adderall and too little sleep. Plus he seemed to have an odd habit of running towards trouble instead of away from it. He never really seems to think of consequences until its way too late either. That is how he managed to end up searching for half a dead body, at midnight, in the fucking forest, with his severe asthmatic best friend wheezing in the background.  
  
“Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?” Scott asked.  
  
“Huh. I didn’t even think about that.” Stiles replied. He’d been more focused on finding out who and how, opps.  
  
“And what if whoever killed the body is still out here?” Oh Scotty, only an idiot would hang around this long.  
  
Stiles shrugged, “Also something I didn’t think about.” It was easier to lie than trying to explain his reasoning.  
  
He had promised his Dad he wouldn’t go looking for the body – but that was a lie too. He’d only listened to the call out of sheer boredom in the first place but now he couldn't stop thinking about it. A savage animal attack, that’s what they said it looked like. Stiles knew better. Things in Beacon Hills were never what they seemed to be.  
  
Stiles had always been aware that it was something no one liked to talk about. The secrets, hidden in plain sight, or lurking just beneath the surface. He could see it in the way the Walcott family looked at people like food, it was the reason why Scott’s boss kept one too many unnecessary items in the clinic, it was clear as day to anyone who noticed just how much the Hales liked to sniff things and it was the reason why his Mother’s tattoos glowed like they had a mind of their own. Marking her as one of them. It seemed like everyone liked to pretend they didn’t know or that it didn’t exist. Sometimes it was easier to pretend you weren’t a part of it.  
  
Light blinded his eyes, Stiles tumbled backwards onto the ground. A dog barked, it was way too close for comfort. Stiles could almost feel where the beasts jaws snapped shut on air just inches from his forearm.  
  
“Hang on! Hang on! This little delinquent belongs to me.” _Oh shit._  
  
Leaving Scott in the woods by himself did make Stiles feel a little guilty; but the disappointed look in his father’s eyes as he drove him home stopped him from doing anything more than sending a simple _‘im sorry’_ text. He’d have to be more careful next time.  
  
_  
  
When Scott showed up to school the next day with a nasty looking bite and spinning tales of little red riding hood Stiles knew something was wrong. Wolves in California were impossible. Wolves in Beacon Hills meant the Hales were coming back.  
  
Stiles couldn’t think about this now, he had a class to get too. There were too many possibilities and not enough facts.  
  
Then Lydia Martin breezed on by. She was looking drop dead gorgeous today- like always- and totally uninterested in him- like always. The perfect distraction- like always.  
  
_  
  
Stiles had been trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him something was wrong. Scott was acting strange, stranger than normal that is. It looked like he nearly had a fit when the whistle went off at the start of lacrosse practice. One minute he had his hands over his helmet practically writhing on the ground. The next he was stopping goals like it was child’s play. Which was great, awesome, fucking spectacular actually; _but what the hell?_  
  
Then there was Alison Argent who Stiles had been purposely trying not to pay attention too; but that was kind of hard to do when Scott can’t seem to take his eyes off her. Stiles had never met Alison before but he knew their family name, and he remembered how anxious they made people act. His mother had always kept a close eye on them, chance encounters at the grocery store, fakes smiles to go with fake conversations. Even though Stiles hadn't really known what was going on it set his teeth on edge and had him hiding behind his mother's legs. Alison seemed nice enough, as the newest addition to Lydia's collection that is. He could see why Scott liked her.  
  
_  
  
Stiles got the chance to ask Scott what was wrong later as they walked through the woods once again looking for the dead body- and Scott’s inhaler.  
  
Scott jumped over a log and plowed on forward, hardly stopping for a breath. His asthma was long forgotten. “I don’t know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball and that’s not the only weird thing I can hear things I shouldn’t be able to hear, smell things-  
  
“Smell things?” Stiles snorted. The gnawing in his stomach was getting worse, “Like what?”  
  
“Like the mint gum in your pocket.”  
  
“So all this started with a bite right?” Stiles tried to remember what he knew about the Hales and how werewolfism worked. They’d been friendly, but very secretive too. He had a faint memory of Talia Hale sitting in his living room talking to his mother but that was it.  
  
“What if it’s like an infection? My body is flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something.”  
  
“You know what; I actually think I’ve heard of something like this. It’s a specific kind of infection. ”  
  
“Are you serious?”  
  
“Ya, I think it’s called lycanthropy.” Stiles grinned to mask his unease. Maybe he was wrong, hopefully he was wrong.  
  
Scott gave him a shove, “There could be something seriously wrong with me!”  
  
“I know! You’re a werewolf!” Stiles growled and made claw motions in the air.  
  
Scott shot an unhappy glare back at him as they walked.  
  
“Obviously I’m joking.” Only he wasn’t really.  
  
_  
  
“Maybe the killer moved the body?”  
  
Scott kneeled casually searching through the leaves, “If he did I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like 80 bucks.”  
  
Stiles didn’t think Scott was going to ever need his inhaler again but couldn’t even think of how to begin explaining. He looked up to see tall, dark and creepy glaring at them. Derek Hale. The wolves were back.  
  
“What are you doing here? This is private property.” Ouch. Someone’s a bit grouchy.  
  
Stiles couldn’t bring himself to be too annoyed at Derek’s behaviour. As Derek tossed Scott’s useless inhaler back to him Stiles saw one of his many problems unravel themselves in front of his eyes. Who would be better to teach Scott the ways of the wolf, than someone who’s practically more wolf than man?  
  
_  
  
Derek would know if Scott actually was turning into a werewolf. Scott’s scent would have tipped him off the moment they stepped into Hale territory. Stiles knew he could rely on him for backup once to moon was out. It was the before and after that Stiles had to worry about. All his preliminary research pointed to Scott losing control, and probably attacking someone.  
  
He decided to start by telling Scott that he was right. The fiber analysis had confirmed that wolf hairs were present on the body. Yes, there are wolves in California but they’re actually werewolf hairs. Congratulations Scott!  
  
But Coach was calling the team together and it seemed like that very important conversation would have to wait.  
  
Coach had his regular spiel about how important first line was then he set them up to scrimmage against each other. From the moment Scott swiped the ball away from Jackson; it was like something just came over him. He was spinning and faking and dodging like a goddamned whirlwind of awesomeness. Then he did a fucking flip over top of the defensive line. Stiles felt his jaw- as well as everyone else's in the vicinity - drop. That was amazing! Where the fuck did Scott's new gymnastic powers come from? If Stiles had any doubts before about Scott’s potential condition they were gone now.  
  
_  
  
Stiles wouldn’t go as far as to say using the internet was his only talent; but it was definitely one of his better ones. His knowledge on werewolves was flimsy at best but somewhere in those myths and legends there must be at least a grain of truth. Scott was going to need all the help he could get.  
  
“I’ve been up all night reading, websites, books, all this.” Stiles fumbled through the printed off notes covered in highlighter markings.  
  
“How much Adderall have you had today?”  
  
“A lot. Doesn’t matter.” He spun around on his chair, “Here listen to this –  
  
“Is this about the body? Have they found who did it?” Scott asked. _Fuck_. Stiles had hoped to be better at explaining, but the Adderall made him jumpy and he was getting ahead of himself.  
  
“No they’re still questioning people.” Stiles had almost completely forgotten about the dead body; the thing that had gotten them into this mess in the first place, “They’ve even brought in Derek Hale.”  
  
“Oh! The guy we met in the woods the other day?”  
  
“Ya, yes but that’s not it, ok!” His hands swooped in an accentuated motion. He really shouldn’t have taken all that Adderall.  
  
“Well what then?”  
  
“Remember the joke from the other day?” Stiles paused; it’s now or never, “Not a joke anymore.”  
  
“The wolf, the bite in the woods, I started doing all this research.” Stiles pushed himself to his feet. He couldn’t sit still anymore, “Do you even know why a wolf howls?”  
  
“Should I?” He could tell Scott was just humouring him.  
  
“It’s a signal. When a wolf is alone it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So if you heard a wolf howling, all this could have been nearby. There could have been a whole pack of them.”  
  
“A whole pack of wolves?”  
  
“No, werewolves.”  
  
Annnddd there goes Scott’s attention span, “Are you seriously wasting my time with this? You know I’m picking up Alison in an hour.” There lies the heart of the problem. Alison. If Scott ended up hurting her tonight he would never forgive himself. Stiles had to make sure that didn't happen.  
  
“I saw you on the field today Scott. What you did wasn’t just amazing, alright, it was impossible.”  
  
“So what I made a good shot.”  
  
“No! You made an incredible shot!” Scott didn’t believe him and Stiles was beginning to get desperate, “The way you moved! Your speed! Your reflexes! People can’t just do that suddenly overnight.”  
  
Scott shook his head slightly. Stiles powered on. He had to make him believe.  
  
“And there’s the vision and the senses! Don’t think that I didn’t notice you don’t need your inhaler anymore-  
  
“Ok! I can’t think about this now!” Scott interrupted, “We’ll talk tomorrow.” Wait what?  
  
“What? No! The full moon is tonight! Don’t you get it?”  
  
“What are you trying to do? I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I cannot believe actually wants to go out with me. Everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?”  
  
“I’m trying to help.” Stiles took a deep breath, “You’re cursed Scott. And it’s not just that the moon will cause you to physically change, it also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak.”  
  
“Bloodlust?”  
  
“Ya, your urge to kill.”  
  
Scott glared at him, “I’m already starting to feel an urge to kill Stiles.”  
  
Stiles reached around and grabbed one of his books, “The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse. Alright? I haven’t seen anyone raise your pulse like Alison does. You gotta cancel this date.”  
  
Scott had him slammed back against the wall before he even knew what was happening.  
  
“I’m sorry.” Scott sounded dazed, like he didn’t know what was happening either, “I gotta go get ready.”  
  
His mumbled apology didn’t help to bring Stiles out of his shock. The bloodlust was already setting in. _Fuck_. What was he going to do? As he picked up the chair from where Scott had knocked it over, Stiles couldn’t help but stare at the claw marked tear down the back. _He was so fucked._  
  
_  
  
The only reason Stiles went to the party was to keep an eye on Scott. Well, and Lydia but she was off somewhere with Jackson; so mainly Scott.  
  
For the most part Scott seemed fine, he was dancing and smiling and having a good time. All his attention devoted to Alison. He looked like a love sick puppy.  
  
Stiles had only taken his eyes off him for 5 minutes when suddenly Scott was staggering to his car leaving behind a very confused Alison. It was happening.  
  
There was Derek Hale too, right on schedule. Stiles didn’t really understand why he was talking to Alison but the wolfman must have everything worked out. He didn’t bother to dwell on it though; he had a best friend to find.  
  
_  
  
“Let me in Scott I can help!” Stiles hadn’t worked out how exactly but he knew he could.  
  
“No! Listen you gotta find Alison.” Scott held the door between them. It wouldn’t budge.  
  
“She’s fine. I saw her get a ride from the party. She’s totally fine.”  
  
“I think I know who it is.”  
  
“Just let me in, we can talk.”  
  
“Derek Hale is the werewolf. He’s the one who bit me. He’s the one who killed the girl in the woods.”  
  
“Scott, Derek is the one who drove Alison from the party.” Stiles knew he should have kept his mouth shut as soon as he finished speaking.  
  
The door slammed shut.  
  
“Scott!?”Stiles banged against the door. Fuck.  
  
_  
  
Stiles raced up the steps to Alison’s house. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._ Scott was already drawn to Alison in the first place. Mentioning Derek and that she might be in danger had sent him overboard. Now Alison was in danger from Scott too, as well as possibly everything else.  
  
The door opened and Stiles mouth ran away without him, “Uh, hi Mrs. Argent. Umm, you have no idea who I am. I’m a friend of your daughters. Look this is going to sound kind of crazy, really crazy actually –  
  
Mrs. Argent turned around, “Alison!”  
  
Stiles stared up at Alison as she appeared at the top of the stairs. _Oh, thank god._  
  
“Hey Stiles.” Alison smiled hesitantly at him, “What are you doing here?”  
  
Shit. Stiles scratched at the back of his head, “Errr, you wouldn’t happen to know where Scott went would you?”  
  
“No, sorry. Is he alright?” If the look in her eyes was anything to go off of she was just as smitten with Scott as he was with her.  
  
“I’m sure he’s fine. It’s just really important that I find him before curfew.” Stiles nodded at Mrs. Argent, “Sorry to have disturbed you.”  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow then Stiles." Alison replied, looking for confused than anything.  
  
Mrs. Argent closed the door and shared a pointed look with her daughter, as if she hadn’t just seen that odd boy sprint back to his car like his life depended on it.  
  
_  
  
When Scott called him the next morning and asked for a ride home Stiles officially declared the night of terror to be over. Things were never going to be the same again but now they just had to figure out how to move forward.  
  
“You know what actually worries me the most.” Scott wrapped himself in the blanket more for comfort than warmth.  
  
“If you say Alison I’m going to punch you in the head.”  
  
“She probably hates me now.” Really Scott? You get turned into a werewolf and your biggest concern is the pretty girl?  
  
Stiles groaned, “I doubt that but you better come up with a pretty amazing apology. Or you know you could just tell her the truth and reveal in the fact that you’re a frickin’ werewolf. ”  
  
Scott looked at him in disbelief.  
  
“Ok bad idea.”  
  
There was a look of hopelessness in Scott’s eyes that Stiles hated seeing. Scott’s world as he knew it had changed and he was drowning in it. It’s time for a best friend pick me up.  
  
“Hey,” Stiles slapped his arm, “We’ll get through this. If I have to I’ll even chain you up on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once, I could do it.”  
  
Scott gave a heavy breath that was almost but not quite laughter. It’s a start.


	2. First Line

When Scott explained what happened that night, with Derek using Alison’s jacket to lure him away and then being attacked by hunters Stiles wasn’t too surprised. He’d seen enough movies to know that if werewolves existed then so would hunters. If the hunters knew anything about Beacon Hills they would have recognized Derek but Scott’s identity would be hidden while he was shifted. Staying hidden was probably Scott’s only hope of surviving till the next full moon. 

Scott was dead set in his belief that Derek was the one who killed that girl in the woods; which only left Stiles with even more questions. Derek had went out of his way to lure Scott back into the woods with that jacket to either ensure Scott didn’t hurt anyone or that no one would find out about werewolves. Derek didn’t seem like the type to kill for fun- or be this sloppy about it. If he had killed her something else must have happened. Maybe Derek had lost control and killed her? Maybe she had figured out werewolves existed so Derek killed her to keep the secret? Maybe she was a werewolf too and they got into a fight? Each of his theories was crazier than the last. Derek was raised with werewolves; he’d have spent years practicing his control. If she had figured it out why kill her and not offer her the bite? When Scott was bitten it seemed so unplanned and almost accidental. Had he tried to kill Scott too only failed? If she was a werewolf too then she would have been trespassing into Hale territory but that wasn’t something that normally resulted in being torn in half. At least Stiles hoped it wasn’t. 

Stiles walked past Scott in the locker room, only to be stopped by the shaken look on his face. 

“Did you apologize to Alison?” Very few things could put that look on a guy’s face. A girl was always one of them.

“Ya.” Scott didn’t even turn to look at him, just slumped back against the lockers and stared off into the distance.

“So is she giving you a second chance or…” Stiles prompted.

“Ya.” That was great news! 

“Ya! Alright, so everything’s good!” Stiles started to leave.

“No.” 

“No?”

“Remember the hunters?” The group of highly efficient werewolf killers; yes, Stiles remembered them; “Her father is one of them.”

“Her dad?” Stiles stated, not really realizing what that meant. 

“Shot me.” 

“Alison’s father?” _Oh shit._

“With a crossbow.” Scott continued. 

“Alison’s _father_?” 

“Yes! Her father!” Scott yelled. “ _Oh my god. Oh my god-_

Stiles jumped forward and slapped Scott lightly on the cheek. He was about to work himself into a panic. “Hey, hey he can’t recognize you right.”

“No, no I don’t think so.” Good. That means Argent will only try to kill him for dating his daughter, not for being a fucking werewolf too. 

Stiles opened his mouth again before he could stop himself, “Does Alison know about it?” 

“I don’t know!” Scott exclaimed; it would be just his luck if she did. Talk about star-crossed lovers. 

“He tried to kill me man.” Scott was about to have a break down in the middle of the locker room. Practice was starting and they didn’t have time for this. 

Stiles started passing Scott his lacrosse stuff, “Take this, and this. Just focus on lacrosse for now. That’s all you gotta do.” Tripping over his own feet he flung his body towards the exit. Scott can have his breakdown later when they have the time to think everything through properly. 

Coach had them running basic drills again as he evaluated who was going to be on the first line. Realistically Stiles had given up all hope of making first line but he still had a few daydreams of making it and being more than a benchwarmer, of stealing Lydia from Jackson and ruling the school like a regular high school cliché come true. Greenburg was running extra laps again, and everything was going fine until Jackson knocked Scott flat on to his back. 

Stiles couldn’t hear what was being said but he saw Jackson’s make his regular snide comment and Coach being the deity of all things insulting didn’t have had anything nice to say about Scott’s performance. He watched the tension between Scott’s shoulders with growing restlessness. 

Stiles could hear Coach yelling, “McCall’s gonna try it again! McCall’s gonna try it again!” like he was imitating a small child. Scott took his place at the front of the line, and took off running. It was exactly like the last practice. Scott moved faster than should be possible. He charged straight towards the net and Stiles kept waiting for him to dodge around Jackson and score. He didn’t. Instead Scott crashed right into Jackson sending him flying backwards and Scott fell to his knees a moment later. 

While everyone else ran to Jackson’s side, Stiles ran to Scott’s. 

“I can’t control it Stiles. It’s happening.” Scott’s voice was deeper and raspy, his breathing was unsteady and Stiles had to wrap his arms around Scott’s shoulders to stop him from shaking. 

“What here? Right now?” This was not good. Not good at all. 

Stiles dragged Scott to his feet and rushed him back into the school. Everyone else was distracted with Jackson- everyone else except for Derek Hale who stood behind the bleachers watching them with a permanently angry face. Stiles ignored him. 

They didn’t stop moving until they were back in the locker rooms, “Scott, just breathe.” Stiles mind was whirling, thinking of all the steps his father used to calm him down from his panic attacks. 

“ **Get away from me!** ” Scott roared. His eyes blazed a bright yellow and fuck he had fangs too. 

Stiles scrambled backwards, fear and adrenaline rushing through his veins. Scott leapt up onto the lockers, growling the entire time. _Fuck, fuck, fuck_. He was going to be dog food any minute now. Stiles ducked back behind the lockers and tried to make a break for the exit. Scott followed. Stiles reached out and grabbed a hold of the thing closest to him- the fire extinguisher. He twisted around just in time to see Scott lunge at him. In what he assumed would be his final act in this life; he pointed the nozzle and sprayed. 

The loud stream of foam sent Scott stumbling back with his hands over his ears and Stiles pushed himself out into the safety of the hallway. He clutched at the extinguisher, closed his eyes and took a single calming breath. He did it. He was alive. 

“Stiles,” Scott’s voice sounded dazed but also human once again. Slowly Stiles peeked his head around the doorframe. Scott was seated on one of the benches, drenched in sweat and still trembling, “What happened?”

Stiles dropped the extinguisher and stepped back into the room, “You tried to kill me.” God his life was spiralling out of control too. Scott has been a werewolf for 2 days and already tried to kill him, “It’s like I told you before. It’s the anger. It’s your pulse rising. It’s a trigger.”

Scott looked gutted, “But that’s lacrosse. It’s a pretty violent game if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Well it is gonna be lot more violent if you end up killing someone on the field.” Stiles took a deep breath, still trying to calm his racing heartbeat. “You can’t play Saturday night. You’re going to have to get out of the game.” 

“But I’m first line.”

“Not anymore.”

Stiles knew he was right. Scott was a danger to every other player out on the field. If he couldn’t even stop himself from attacking his best friend, what’s going to stop him from attacking someone he hates like Jackson and not ripping his throat out? Scott needed to learn a method to calm himself down, mediation or breathing exercises or something. If Derek had been any less of a creeper/potential murderer Stiles would have asked him for help; but it looked like he was just going to have to do this on his own. 

_

When Stiles flipped open skype to tell Scott about Jackson’s minor shoulder injuries the last thing he expected to see was Derek just lurking in the corner of Scott’s room. Who the _fuck_ does that? Maybe he’s on a quest for maximum creeper points; it’s 100 bonus points if you manage to scare the shit out of your victim before threatening them; plus another 50 points for breaking into their room without them noticing. _Like what the fuck dude._

He was already half way out the door and debating calling his Dad to report a kidnapping when he got a text from Scott, ‘ _Im ok. Bastard just threatened me about not playing on Sat._ ’ Stiles breathed a sigh of relief and went back upstairs, double checking that all the doors and windows were locked as he went. 

_

Stiles caught sight of his Dad standing in the hallway outside the principal’s office when he was on his way to lunch. He was kind of disappointed in himself that his first reaction was too go leaping back behind the staircase and out of sight; but now wasn’t the time to go analysing his actions. Not when he had a compulsive need to know why his Dad was here. After watching for a minute and a failed attempt at lip reading Stiles decided to get Scott. His wolfy powers had to be good for something. 

“Come here.” Stiles grabbed his best friend by the shoulders and dragged him forward to the staircase. He pointed to where his Dad was standing with the principal and one of his other officers, “Tell me what they are saying.” 

Scott nodded and focused his attention. He may not have control over the shift yet but he had pretty good control of the senses. A moment later Scott answered, “There’s a curfew because of the body.”

“Unbelievable! My Dad is out looking for a rabid werewolf and the jerkoff who actually killed the girl is just sitting at home doing whatever he wants.” 

“Well you can’t exactly tell your Dad the truth about Derek.” True. That conversation would not end well. 

“I can do something.” There had to be something Stiles could do to help. His Dad was a great officer but he didn’t have all the facts and that put him at a  
disadvantage. 

“Like what?”

“Like find the other half of the body.” They’d already found it once. They could do it again. 

Stiles turned and stormed away just as Scott exclaimed, “Are you kidding?!” 

_

Scott’s texted about finding something to do with the murder case had Stiles bursting with excitement. He exploded in through Scott’s front door raced forward and took the staircase two steps at a time. When he made it to Scott’s bedroom he nearly fell flat on his face as he stumbled in. 

“What did you find? Where did you find it? How did you find it?” Stiles blinked, forcing himself to pause and gain control again, “And yes, I’ve had a lot of Adderall.” 

“I found something at Derek Hale’s”

“Are you kidding? What?”

“There’s something buried there. I could smell blood.” 

“That’s awesome!” Stiles mouth continued speaking without his permission, “I mean that’s terrible. Who’s blood?”

“I dunno, but when we do your Dad nails Derek for the murder and you help me figure out how to play lacrosse without changing. Cause there is no way I’m not playing in the game on Saturday.” 

_ 

The easiest way to find out if the blood Scott smelled at Derek’s was the blood of the dead girl was to compare scents. The only way to compare scents was for Scott to smell the half of the dead girl’s body that they had already found. Thus it was time for a little hospital B&E. 

Stiles didn’t really need to be there, he couldn’t do much to help but he went anyway for moral support, “Ok, good luck I guess.” Scott gave him a weak smile and ducked through the door that leads towards the morgue.

Stiles was about to go sit in the waiting room when he caught sight of a strawberry blonde beauty already sitting in one of the chairs; the goddess herself, Lydia Martin. Stiles murmured curses under his breath and against all his common sense decided to go and talk to her. 

“Hey Lydia, you probably don’t remember me. I sit behind you in Biology.” And across the class chemistry, diagonally in physics and at a 45 degree angle in English last year, “Anyway, I’ve always thought that we just had this kind of connection; unspoken of course. Maybe it would be kind of cool to get to know each other a little better.”

“Ya, hold on a moment.” Lydia reached into her stunning tresses and pulled out a Bluetooth headset, “I’m sorry I didn’t get any of what you just said. Is it worth repeating?”

“Uhh, no.” Stiles swallowed. The full force of what he almost did hit him in the gut. That was social suicide, that was the set up for the worst rejection ever, he almost just word-vomited all over the great Lydia Martin. She eats guys like him for breakfast. 

Stiles took a seat on the other side of the room, cursing his recklessness. Lydia put her headset back in. Crisis avoided. 

A couple minutes later when Jackson stepped out of a patient room, Stiles hid behind a large booklet and hoped he wouldn’t notice him. 

Lydia rose from her seat, “Did he do it?”

Jackson rubbed his injured shoulder, “He said not to make a habit of it but one shot won’t kill me.” 

Lydia nodded, “You should get one right before the game too.” 

Jackson looked at her in astonishment.

“The pros do it all the time.” She justified, “You wanna be a little high school amateur? Or do you want to go pro?” Lydia pulled Jackson closer drawing out the last few syllables alluringly. Jackson kissed her instead of pushing the argument. 

Stiles was slightly shocked. Jackson was a douche, but he was darn good player. He was also Lydia’s boyfriend. Stiles had assumed she would have cared more about his health than the stupid lacrosse game. 

Stiles jumped as Scott ripped the booklet out of his hands. Shit, was he really reading a menstrual cycle pamphlet this whole time?

“The scent is the same.” Scott declared. 

“Are you sure?” They can’t risk making any mistakes with this.

“Yes.”

“Then he did bury the other half of the body on his property.” Was Derek feeling remorseful about killing her? Or was he just trying to save his own ass? 

“Which means we have proof he killed the girl.” Not yet, no sane cop would believe that Scott knew because his nose told him so. 

“I say we use it.”

“How?”

“Tell me something first.” It was something that had been nagging at him since he learned that the only reason Scott had been at Derek’s in the first place was because he stormed over in a fit of rage, “Are you doing this because you want to stop Derek or because you want to play in the game and he said you couldn’t?” 

“There are bite marks on the legs, Stiles.” That wasn’t an answer, “Bite marks.” But it would have to do.

“Ok then we’re gonna need a shovel.”

_

They waited until dark, and then they waited until Derek’s Camaro pulled away from that burnt wreck of a house and towards town. They’d probably have at a couple hours. If they were lucky Derek was going to get laid and he was going to be gone all night. They grabbed their shovels from the jeep’s trunk and Stiles followed as Scott lead them around the property. 

“Something is different.” Scott remarked as he scented the air.

“Different how?” Maybe Derek had moved the body again.

“I dunno.” Scott stopped walking by a pile of fresh dirt that really looked like a grave. It was like Derek wasn’t even trying to hide the fact he killed the girl, “Let’s just get this over with.”

Stile took his place beside Scott and together they dug. They dug until Stiles’ back ached and his arms were sore. They dug until his eyes were heavy and his body half asleep with the methodical work. They dug until night was gone and morning was fast approaching. All Stiles wanted to do was go home and sleep, it was only sheer force of will that kept him digging. 

Stiles shovel hit something soft, “Stop! Stop!” He kneeled down and started pushing dirt aside with his hands. 

There was a big bag buried in the ground; a bag that looked the hell of a lot like a body bag. It was wrapped and tied together with twine. Together Scott and Stiles did their best to untie the knots quickly. When the knots finally loosened they reached forward and opened the bag. 

Stiles screamed and jumped backwards out of the hole. Across from him he could see the exact same reaction from Scott. It wasn’t a dead body in the bag like they were expecting. 

“What the hell is that!”

“It’s a wolf!” Scott didn’t sound like he believed what they both knew to be right in front of them. 

“Ya I can see that.” It was a big black wolf, with wide, pale, and very dead eyes. Its tongue rolled out of its mouth and the first stages of decomposition just starting to appear. “I thought you said you smelled blood; as in human blood.”

“I told you something was different.” How the fuck was this possible? 

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Stiles’ mind was spinning; he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the beast. It was magnificent – or it would have been if it was alive.  


Now it just gave him the creeps. 

“We have to get out of here.” Scott’s voice of reason broke Stiles out of his trance.

“Ya, help me cover this up.” Scott started pushing dirt back into the hole but Stiles was frozen once again. 

“What’s wrong?”

Stiles’ voice was shaky, “Do you see that flower?” It was small and purple and Stiles had been looking at pictures of it in all his research. 

“What about it?”

“I think it is wolfsbane.”

“Well what’s that?” Really Scott? 

“Haven’t you ever seen The Wolf Man?” Scott shook his head. “Lon Chaney Jr.?” Scott shook his head again, “Claude Rains?” Still a no. “The original classic werewolf movie?” 

“No!” 

“You are so unprepared for this.” 

Stiles moved over to the flower and carefully picking it up by the base he pulled it out of the ground. It lifted out easily; too easily. There was more twine tied around the base of the flower and buried in the ground around them. Slowly Stiles backed up pulling the twine out of the ground as he went. It was wrapped in a spiral pattern all around the grave. When Stiles reacted the end of the twine he heard Scott call his name softly.

Stiles looked back down into the grave, and nearly screamed again. The massive wolf was now a girl. She stared up at them with the same cold dead eyes and long dark hair the same shade as the wolf’s fur. This poor dead girl was a werewolf. 

_

They put everything back where they found it- except for the wolfsbane rope that made for a wolf body instead of a human one and waited until morning to tell his Dad. Derek had spent all night out and was promptly arrested when he returned. How the whole situation worked out seemed to make Scott happy; he could hardly keep that smug grin off his face as they bustled Derek into the back of the cop car. Stiles on the other hand still had too many questions that seemed like only Derek could answer.

Casually he walked up to the cop car and slipped inside when he thought no one was looking. The rest of the officers were used to seeing him around with his father never mind he’d never been at a crime scene before. The trick was all in acting like you belonged there. 

Derek glared fiercely at him from the back of the car. 

“Ok just so you know, I’m not afraid of you.” Lying to a werewolf probably wasn’t the best way to start. He was practically a walking lie-detector. Derek could probably smell the adrenaline and fear on him as well as hear his heart beating out of his chest, “Ok maybe a little.” 

Derek didn’t say anything.

“I just wanna know something.” All his questions were bubbling right beneath the surface of his skin. He had to know, “She was a werewolf wasn’t she? But she was a different kind of werewolf. She could turn herself into an actual wolf and I know Scott can’t do that. Is that why you killed her?”

“Why are you so worried about me, when it’s you friend who is the problem?” Stiles looked back at Derek suspiciously. He wasn’t confirming or denying anything, “When he shifts on the field what do you think they are going to do? Just keep cheering him on? I can’t stop him from playing, but you can.” Derek leaned forward until his face was nearly up against the bars, “And trust me, you want to.” 

Stiles was being dragged out of the car by the scruff of his neck. 

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” His Dad asked. 

“I’m just trying to help.” Every werewolf and possibly every human in a 50 mile radius knew he was lying now. 

“So how about you help me understand exactly how you came across this.” The body buried in Derek’s front yard. Ya, he was gonna need a pretty good excuse for that. 

“We were looking for Scott’s inhaler.” That’s how it started, so only like a half lie. 

“Which he dropped when?”

“The other night.” Vague and unspecific, Stiles congratulated himself. 

“The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body?”

“Yes.” 

“The night you told me you were alone and Scott was at home.” 

“Yes.” Fuck. ”No! Oh, crap.” Stiles was in so much shit.

“So you lied to me?” His Dad summarized.

“That depends on how you define lying.” Now Stiles is just being difficult but he couldn’t bring himself to stop talking.

“I define it as not telling the truth, how do you define it?” 

“Reclining your body in a horizontal position?” 

“Get the hell out of here.”

“Absolutely.” Time to cut his losses before he loses even more of his dignity. 

_

As Stiles drove Scott back home he had him searching up if wolfsbane was ever used for burials. Maybe he was wrong and the girl wasn’t a different kind of werewolf. Maybe it was the wolfsbane that had her in full wolf form. Her body had shifted back as soon as it was removed. Still he couldn’t get rid of the lurking sensation that they don’t know why exactly Derek had killed his girl. He just didn’t seem like the type to kill someone and then bury the body in his front yard. What kind of idiot buries their own victim in the front yard? 

“I can’t find anything about wolfsbane being used in burials.” Scott sighed flipping through pages on his phone.

“Keep looking,” Stiles insisted, “Maybe it’s like a ritual or something, they bury you as a wolf; or maybe it’s like a special skill, something you have to learn.” 

“I’ll put it on my to-do list. Right under figure out how the hell I am playing this game tonight.” Stiles looked at Scott out of the corner of his eye. Was he really still planning on playing tonight? Derek’s warning played over again in his head. What if someone got hurt?

“Maybe it’s different for girl werewolves.” Stiles theorized, choosing to ignore Scott’s comment. Scott would know if he lied to him anyway. 

“Ok, stop it!” The anger in Scott’s voice startled him.

“Stop what?” 

“Stop saying werewolf so much!”

“Are you ok?” 

“No! No I’m not! I’m so far from being ok!” Well at least this breakdown wasn’t happening in the school locker rooms. 

“You know you’re going to have to except this Scott sooner or later.” 

“No! I can’t breathe!” Scott slammed his hand against the roof of the jeep. Holy shit he was changing. 

“Whoa, whoa.” The jeep swerved as he tried to keep it in control. 

Scott reached for his bag and in the process nearly ripping it open. He pulled out the wolfsbane rope and looked at Stiles in shock, “You kept it!?”

“What else was I supposed to do with it?” He couldn’t just leave it there it would be suspicious!

“Stop the car!” Scott’s yellow eyes had him slamming on the brakes. Stiles really didn’t want to die today.

Stiles grabbed the bag, tumbled out of the jeep and threw the bag as far as he could out into the woods, “See all better now.”

But when he turned around Scott was gone. Wolfsbane makes werewolves angry. Stiles was going to need to remember that. 

_

His very wolfy best friend didn’t show up again until game time. Already dressed and apparently going to play despite his condition. 

“Are you going to try and convince me not to play?” Scott asked defensively.

Stiles sighed; he was trying to look out for him. Scott was so out of his depth he didn’t know what to do. But this was Scott’s life now and he had to be able to make decisions for himself. Stiles just hoped he didn’t end up getting himself killed, “I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“If I don’t play, I lose first line and Alison.” Were those really his priorities? Before staying hidden from the hunters? More important than not hurting anyone else? Before learning not to hurt her? 

“Alison isn’t going anywhere, and it is one game that you really don’t need to play.”

“I want to play. I want to be on the team. I want to go out with Alison. ” Scott paused, and then continued sounding even more defeated that usual, “I want a fucking semi-normal life.” 

“I get it.” Stiles did understand. He just didn’t agree with it.

“Just try not to worry to what when you’re out there, or get to angry, or stressed. Don’t think about Alison being in the stands, or that her father is trying to kill you, or that Derek is trying to kill you, or the girl he killed, or that you might kill someone, if a hunter doesn’t kill you first.” Scott looked up at him with wide panicked eyes, “I’m sorry. I’ll stop. Good luck.”

¬

Literally everyone was at the game tonight; Scott’s mom, Alison, Alison’s Dad, Lydia, even his own Dad came straight from work to see the first game of the season. Scott was on his own tonight. Stiles was stuck on the bench and if something went wrong there was nothing he could do. 

The game started in a fury of movement and sticks clashing. Stiles picked up on what was happening after the third pass got stolen while Scott danced farther up the field completely open. Jackson must have convinced the rest of the first line not to pass to Scott. That fucking dickwad. Still Stiles was a little bit relieved. Scott couldn’t hurt anyone if he wasn’t involved with the game. 

Jackson scored again, and Stiles caught sight of the sign Lydia and Alison were holding, ‘ **We Love U Jackson** ’ painted in bright colours and large letters. From the looks of it, Alison’s cheering had caught Scott’s attention too. Stiles prayed that the flash of yellow he saw was just a trick of the light and that Scott had everything under control. 

When the ref looked at Scott oddly, and the kid from the other team took a step away from him, Stiles knew Scott was fucked. Werewolf Scott was a damn good player. If Stiles wasn’t so close to panicking he would have already made several dog jokes involving Scott and a love of fetch. 

Coach took a seat beside him just as one of the weirdest moments in lacrosse history happened, “Did the other team just deliberately pass us the ball?” 

“Yes Coach, I think so.” Stiles chewed on the finger of his glove to stop himself from twitching. 

The crowd roared as Scott scored again for the second time in two minutes. The score was tied. 0:39 seconds left on the clock. 

The whistle blew and Scott had the ball once again but he wasn’t focused on the net anymore he was focused on the other players. Stiles could practically hear him growling at the defensive line. Stiles cursed under his breath.. 7.. 6.. 5… The other players charged and Scott tossed the ball. 

Right into the back of the net; the crowded cheered and surged forward. Stiles saw Scott go running in the direction of the school but what he didn’t see was Alison decide to follow him.

_

Stiles ducked back behind the lockers. He should leave, he should really leave. Scott and Alison were _kissing_. Leaving would be the proper thing to do. This is creepy. But he had to talk to Scott. Stiles leaned against the lockers and tried to pretend he couldn’t see them- or hear them. 

Scott was going to be insufferable. He was smitten enough before. Now it’s going to be unbearable. 

“Hi Stiles.” Alison nodded at him as she left. Fuck, how weird would she think he is now? 

“Heyyy.” Stiles tried and failed to act casual.

Scott was grinning like a maniac, “I kissed her.”

“I see that.” Stiles smiled back at him. 

“She kissed me.”

“I saw that too.”

“Pretty good huh?” Stiles smirked.

“I – I don’t know how but I controlled it. I stopped it, pulled it back.” Scott’s was on cloud nine. This was probably the first time since he got bit that he felt in control of his life again, “Maybe it’s not that bad. Maybe I can do this.”

Stiles never doubted for a minute that he could.

“Totally. We will talk later than.” Stiles couldn’t bring himself to ruin Scott’s good mood. 

Scott grabbed his jersey to stop him from leaving, “What is it?”

Stiles sighed, “The medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found and they’ve determined that the killer of the girl was animal; not human; Derek human not animal; Derek not killer; Derek let out of jail.”

“Are you serious?” 

“Ya and here’s the real kicker, my Dad I.D. the dead girl- both halves. Her name was Laura Hale.” 

“ _Hale._ ”

“She was Derek’s sister.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo it's going to be a while before I post the next chapter but I promise I'm not going to abandon it. I'm going to work on my writing style for a while then come back and continue writing.


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